Gene & Georgetti Steakhouse, Chicago
“I’ve been here for 20 years and never worked a day in my life,” laughs general manager Rich Ciota. “This restaurant opened in 1941, and the atmosphere takes you right back there. It’s a club. The décor is all original, all old-school.” The menu lists over 50 items, including every single cut of meat imaginable. “We have a rib-eye, a T-bone, filet, a Porterhouse that’s bone-in or without, a NY Strip. You name it, we have it,” he says.
Everything comes from Allen Brothers, the largest meat purveyor in America, and this place remains family owned, now by the second generation.
The standout cut: The 2-pound T-bone steak comes broiled. They cut all the steaks in-house, and this one is prepared with no seasoning, charred to that perfect medium rare in an old-fashioned radiant broiler. For $51.50, you also get cottage pan-fried potatoes and a dinner salad. Wash it down with their classic Martini.